The Australian | 30 April 2015
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Dispelling a year of gloomy predictions of poorer international competitiveness, Australia’s higher education system has come third on a ranking based on performance across 36 disciplines, behind only the US and Britain and equal to Germany.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………....................................
Australian universities also came in third place based on institutions in top 50 positions in the 2015 QS World University Rankings by Subject.
Australian National University topped the list of 29 local universities qualifying for the ranking, with four disciplines being scored among the … [Read more...]

The Australian | 16 April 2015
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Victoria’s vice-chancellors have warned that their universities’ surpluses are artificially “inflated” and may bear little relation to reality.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….......……
Among other pressures, the end of the Education Infrastructure Fund means need to generate healthy surpluses to fund future investments.
Victorian Vice Chancellor’s Committee chair and La Trobe vice-chancellor John Dewar says:
This is the only way a university can fund a capital program given that there are no longer any sources of government funds for capital projects. By and large, universities operate with very low … [Read more...]

Grattan Institute | 13 October 2014
....but courses matter more
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Bachelor-degree graduates of Australia’s sandstone and technology universities earn about 6% more over a 40-year career than do graduates of Australia’s other universities, a new Grattan Institute report reveals. The report - Mapping Australian higher education, 2014-15 - also shows that course taken has a bigger effect on income than university attended.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….......……
Technology universities – including RMIT, Curtin University and Queensland University of Technology – are much lower in international university rankings than sandstone … [Read more...]

1 August 2014
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
In July, The Scan published 56 posts, somewhat down on the longterm average of about 20 a week. An issue that continues to resonate with Scan readers is the impact of "skills reform" on the future of the TAFE system, with three posts on that issue making the top ten reads list in July. Posts dealing with the issue of university fee deregulation have also been attracting significant interest.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…
TAFE becoming “residualised”
4 July 2014 | Analysis by Leesa Wheelahan (University of Toronto and LH Martin Institute) of recent VET statistics shows that TAFE’s share of publicly funded … [Read more...]

17 July 2014
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Martin Bean, currently the vice-chancellor of the UK’s Open University, has been appointed to succeed Margaret Gardner as vice-chancellor RMIT University.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…
A global leader in managing the intersection between education and technology, Martin Bean has placed The Open University in a very strong position, maintaining its top-five position for student satisfaction in the UK’s National Student Survey, with scores of more than 90%, while continuing to consolidate its world- class research profile.
Before joining The Open University, Mr Bean was General Manager Worldwide Education Products … [Read more...]

___________________________________________________________________________________________
Shake up for rental scheme
13 March 2014 | The government has flagged a shake-up of the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) in the wake of revelations the program has been manipulated to build student housing that is being let to wealthy foreign students. Two developers behind an 823-bed NRAS development in Sydney tapped more than $80 million in subsidies to construct a building to be filled largely by international students. Universities have also snapped up thousands of NRAS incentives to build large blocks of studio accommodation that is often taken up by fee-paying international … [Read more...]

RMIT Newsroom 17 February 2014
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
RMIT University has emphasised its claim to be a global university of technology and design with the launch of its Global website.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The site, at www.rmit.com, is designed to showcase the university’s key strengths to prospective students, staff and research and industry partners.
The Global site is designed to illustrate RMIT’s global connections. It delivers programs in 12 countries across Europe, Asia and Australia , with two campuses in Vietnam and a centre in Barcelona, Spain. Forty per cent of RMIT’s 82,000 students are international – 16% studying in … [Read more...]

The Australian | 5 March 2014
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
It appears Victoria’s four dual-sector universities have quietly dumped their TAFE status and the burden of state government reporting that went with it.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
New legislation will see state government-owned TAFE assets and infrastructure transferred to the dual-sector universities. It also frees them to negotiate wage deals with TAFE teachers without the state government having to approve the agreements.
Andrew Smith, Federation University’s deputy vice-chancellor (academic), said there are no funding implications, noting changes to state funding arrangements meant … [Read more...]

1 March 2014
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Job cuts at La Trobe
28 February 2014 | La Trobe University has confirmed it is cutting 350 jobs as part of a restructure. University management told staff at a meeting this afternoon. It is understood the redundancies are compulsory, and will affect the university's Bundoora campus in Melbourne's north west as well as its regional Victorian campuses....[ MORE ]....
TEQSA shake up
28 February 2014 | The government has introduced a bill to radically restructure the national higher education regulatory agency.The bill provides for a spill of the positions of the five commissioners … [Read more...]

24 February 2014
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
RMIT vice-chancellor Margaret Gardner has announced that RMIT is availing itself of recent changes in Victorian government legislation to dump its standing as an institute of technical and further education – a public TAFE.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
She said that “TAFE” doesn’t fit with RMIT’s strategic directions as “a global university of technology and design” nor do “students find TAFE a helpful or useful descriptor”. While RMIT will still be accountable for any public funding it receives for vocational education activity, it will no longer be bound by the regulatory, reporting and governance … [Read more...]